July 18, 2006
WASHINGTON NEEDS TO GET TOUGH ON OIL, ECONOMY
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amHOW often are we going to allow ourselves to be held up by some minor hoodlum in the Middle East just because we need oil? When will our president and...
H&M INKS LEASE FOR 42ND & FIFTH
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amIT'S taken more than 20 years, but the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street is finally getting a retail presence worthy of the city's most famous shopping boulevard....
MUSIC DEAL'S ON ICE - EMI-WARNER UNLIKELY
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amDespite initial optimism that last week's European court decision overturning the 2004 SonyBMG merger was merely a technicality, executives at EMI and Warner are likely to put their merger plans...
OHH, HENRY! CENDANT BOSS CASHE$ IN AGAIN
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amCendant Corp. shareholders might not have had a great year, but their chief executive Henry Silverman sure did. In a year when the travel and real estate services company's stock...
SLUMPING OUTBACK THROWS BOSS ON BARBIE
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amThe steady drop in eating-out due to the gas pump squeeze has pushed the head of Outback Steakhouse out of his job. The 930-restaurant chain yesterday said Ben Novello, 48,...
PEARLSTINE TO LEAVE TIME FOR CARLYLE
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amFormer Time Inc. Editor-in-Chief Norman Pearlstine will sever ties to the parent company after Labor Day to become a senior adviser to the Carlyle Group, the global buyout firm. Carlyle,...
INDIES PRESSURE BERTELSMANN TO HALT BMG SALE
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amAn influential group of independent record companies is trying to persuade German media conglomerate Bertelsmann to avoid selling its BMG music publishing unit to industry giants including Universal Music, Sony...
STEEP RATES FOR TOYS 'R' US LOAN
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amLenders are charging Toys 'R' Us above-market interest rates on an $800 million loan, a sign that investors remain unconvinced of the retailer's plan to retake market share from giants...
LOEHMANN'S PLANS 40 SHOPS
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amLoehmann's said yesterday it plans to open 40 stores over the next five years, including a flagship on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The expansion plan was announced as...
SLUMPING OUTBACK GETS 'RITA THE BOSS
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amThe steady drop in eating-out due to the gas pump squeeze has pushed the head of Outback Steakhouse out of his job. The 930-restaurant chain yesterday said Ben Novello, 48,...
JERSEY'S SAINT JON - BON JOVI'S A SELLOUT, BUT ONLY IN TICKET SALES
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amASK Jon Bon Jovi what he is, and you might hear New Jersey's golden boy say rock star, or maybe actor, family man or football team owner. Any one of...
JEN HINTS SHE'D LOVE TO DO REUNION
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amJENNIFER Aniston wants to be "Friends" again. The sitcom-sweetie-turned-movie-star told British broadcasters yesterday that she misses playing Rachel with Monica, Chandler, Ross, Joey and Phoebe on the long-running hit NBC...
KAT-ASTROPHE - MCPHEE DEFENDS MISSING 'IDOL' TOUR DUE TO ILLNESS
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amSO what's really up with Katharine McPhee? The "American Idol" runner-up, who begged off the annual "Idol" concert tour because of laryngitis and bronchitis, is causing quite a bit of...
SCI-FIND - 'EUREKA' DOESN'T APPEAR ON A REGULAR ROAD MAP
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amREMEMBER when summer was the season saved for repeats, and new shows too awful to premiere in the fall? Then something strange happened. The TV networks still slotted in what...
STARR REPORT
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amGasping for air Network television recently set a record for the lowestrated week in its history - and a glance at Sunday's ratings gives a pretty good indication that viewership...
ROME, SWEET ROME - ARE YOU GETTING YOUR MONEY'S WORTH? MARK ELLWOOD OFFERS A PRIMER FOR THE FIRST TIMER
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amFORGET ALITALIA If time is of the essence, and you need a nonstop flight, don't expect options - the spectacularly awful Alitalia dominates the route between New York and Fiumicino...
FLAT LAND - ON YOUR NEXT TRIP TO ROME, FORGET HOTELS. CHRIS BUNTING FINDS 5 DREAM APARTMENTS
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amPATIO, PLEASE Piazza Navona Here's the plan:Take the elevator up five flights to the 2 BR Topfloor apartment. Pretend to scope out the place (the fireplace, master bed, full kitchen...
LEARN AS YOU GO - IN TUSCANY, EMILY LAMBERT PICKS UP THE LINGO
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amIF you ever had trouble paying attention in class, try doing it again jetlagged. On my first day of Italian language school in Lucca, my morning coffee was wearing off...
BEASTY BOYS - 'RETROSEXUALS' CALL FOR RETURN OF MANLY MEN; RETROSEXUALS RISING
July 18, 2006 | 4:00am'I think (some men) felt metrosexuality took their masculinity away.' - Kathy Delaney, chief creative officer of Deutsch advertising THE men's libbers, brutally oppressed for years by the effeminacy of...
ABS-OLUTELY FABULOUS
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amJACKIE Warner claims she's not the trainer from hell, but she plays one on TV. "Work Out," a new series on Bravo premiering tomorrow at 8 p.m., follows the soap-opera-like...
WII KNOW: EVERYONE WILL WANT IT
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amIT'S only July, but I know what's going to be this holiday season's musthave gift - the Nintendo Wii. The latest video game console from the company that gave us...
BLAZING HEAT FELLS BRAVEST
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amAlmost three dozen firefighters succumbed to searing heat and humidity yesterday battling a three-alarm blaze that gutted sections of a Brooklyn building and left some 100 people temporarily homeless. Thirty...
D'AMATO COZIES UP TO MCCAIN
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amAl D'Amato tapped potential presidential candidate John McCain to headline a major GOP fund-raiser yesterday - raising questions about the former senator's feelings toward former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's and Gov....
BROADWAY SEX SUIT TOSSED
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amTony-winning producer Dede Harris "couldn't be more thrilled" that a judge has brought the curtain down on a scandalous $5 million lawsuit that accused her of hitting on her actors...
FATAL END TO COKE BINGE
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amA berserk, naked school custodian crashed his car into a Long Island gas station and ran screaming wildly through the streets in a rampage that ended in his death, apparently...
ELIOT VOWS OPEN-DOOR POLICY AS GOV
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amALBANY - Gubernatorial front-runner Eliot Spitzer pledged yesterday to curb state government's notorious "pay-to-play culture" by requiring that the names of all lobbyists who meet with the governor be made...
FERRY HIT IN WAVE $KIM
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amA ferry service must pay $1.2 million to bail itself out of charges it skimmed cash from emergency grants intended to help commuters in the wake of 9/11, a judge...
NO JUSTICE AS DA KEEPS HANDS OFF CAR-THIEF WANNABE
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amNICHOLAS MINUCCI told cops four times in different interviews that he hit Glenn Moore with a baseball bat on June 29 last year in Howard Beach. Yesterday, Minucci, 20, was...
MIKE VOWS SWEEP TO GET HOMELESS OFF THE STREETS
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - New York City social workers will go to 73 highway underpasses, abandoned rail yards and other sites where homeless people gather, and get them off the streets, Mayor...
CHANCE FOR PEACE
July 18, 2006 | 4:00am'Israel can't let three kidnappings draw it into a war with Iran and Syria.' AMONG those who support Israel's actions over the past week, there is a sense that this...
UNION BREAK HITS 'HOME'
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amA new contract that relaxes residency requirements for nearly half the city's workforce will come as good news to thousands now living outside the five boroughs illegally, a union official...
'FAT NICK' IS SENT TO BATTER'S BOX - BASHER GETS 15 YEARS FOR HOWARD BEACH HATE ATTACK
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amNicholas "Fat Nick" Minucci was sentenced by a Queens judge yesterday to 15 years in prison for yelling the n-word and then winding up and striking a black man in...
RALLY PUTS HEAT ON ENEMIES OF ISRAEL
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amThousands demonstrated outside the United Nations in the blistering heat yesterday to support Israel and denounce Hezbollah. Several politicians spoke during the hourlong rally, vowing to help Israel defeat terrorism....
SPREESTYLE ART STABBER
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amCall him Quack the Ripper. Asked to describe his crimes, Kenny Alexis, charged in four Manhattan knife attacks in a 13-hour period in mid-June, drew cops a bizarre doodle -...
TERM-LIMIT FOE QUINN POLL-AXED BY HER OWN SECRET SURVEY
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amChanges to the term-limits laws might be in the offing in light of a new poll conducted for Council Speaker Christine Quinn, The Post learned yesterday. Among the details of...
DUBYA'S REAL DOO-ZY - THE $*%! HITS THE FAN AS HE DISCUSSES MIDEAST WITH BLAIR
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday vented his frustration with the surging violence in the Mideast during a private chat with British Prime Minister Tony Blair that was picked up by...
DETERMINED OLMERT LAYS DOWN THE LAW FOR FIENDS SEEKING 'CEASE-FIRE'
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday set specific conditions for halting military operations against Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, as a massive diplomatic campaign intensified in several countries to...
TALE OF 'TAPES' COULD KO GOTTI JR. IN COURT
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amProsecutors are fighting to convict John "Junior" Gotti with his own words - by playing prison tapes of the mob scion discussing plans to cop a plea to kidnapping radio...
FURY OVER MURDER OF BX. GRANNY
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amRelatives and neighbors were outraged yesterday over the brutal murder of beloved Bronx grandmother Anna Rodriguez, a neighborhood fixture who doted on her invalid husband. "This was her home for...
KID CHASING DOG RUN OVER - S.I. GIRL CRITICAL AFTER PUP BOLTS
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amA 9-year-old Staten Island girl was critically injured yesterday after she chased her dog into the street and was struck by a car, police said. Little Tiffany Gunaratna raced out...
OUTER-BOROUGH TAXI PLAN
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amMore yellow-cab drivers could soon be coaxed into the outer boroughs under a proposed plan to set up taxi stands at 10 transit hubs. Cabbies have long complained that with...
50 ROCKETS SLAM ISRAEL - * HEZBOLLAH BOMBS HIT HOSP * JETS TAKE OUT TERROR MISSILE
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amJERUSALEM - Hezbollah launched more than 50 rockets at northern Israel yesterday in the terrorists' heaviest artillery attack of the week-old war - but Israel aircraft knocked out the bigger...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amBROOKLYN * Police said this man (above) is suspected sexually assaulting and robbing a 40-year-old Coney Island woman. The violence occurred on Neptune Avenue last Friday when the suspect approached...
GUILTY OF '85 MURDER - THE 'CORVETTE KILLER'
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amA Bible-studies teacher at a Queens Korean church was convicted yesterday of a Manhattan murder committed in 1985 - when he rammed his silver Corvette into a crowd of rival...
OLDEST TALE & PICKUP WHINES IN THE BOOK
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amAT AGE 17, fresh-faced Diana Bianchi was a year younger than Christie Brinkley's eldest daughter. But that didn't stop Christie's faithless hubby from pursuing her like a dog in heat....
SAD 'REUNION' - TWA 800 KIN MARK 10 YEARS
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amHundreds of heartsick families and friends of the 230 victims of TWA Flight 800 that exploded over the Atlantic Ocean gathered on the shores of Long Island yesterday on the...
BROADWAY 'SEX' CLAIMS TOSSED - BUTT-GRABBING PRODUCER CLEARED
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amTony Award-winning producer Dede Harris "couldn't be more thrilled" that a judge has brought the curtain down on a scandalous $5 million lawsuit that accused her of constantly hitting on...
SAX PERVERT
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amA sicko saxophonist who performed in the Broadway musical "Sweet Charity" and once conducted youth orchestras was convicted of trying to seduce a 13-year-old girl. A Manhattan federal jury returned...
MIKE SLAMS RUDY'S HOMELESS POLICY
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - For the second time in less than a week, Mayor Bloomberg has criticized Rudy Giuliani's administration, saying yesterday that its homeless strategy was "based on conventional wisdom run...
PETER WOOED ME & BEDDED ME, BUT I WAS JUST A TOOL IN HIS SICK GAME
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amThe beautiful teen lover of Christie Brinkley's hubby yesterday revealed in sensational detail how the seamy spouse secretly seduced her by first playfully brushing up against her at work -...
CRUEL '9/11' $NUB - DEAD-COP PENSION NIX
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amHeartless city officials denied family members of a hero cop who died after working at Ground Zero the pension they're entitled to - because he was on his deathbed and...
QUINN EYES TERM LIMITS
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amChanges to the term-limits laws might be in the offing in light of a new poll conducted for Council Speaker Christine Quinn, The Post learned yesterday. Among the details of...
SUOZZI'S MANAGER QUITS
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amTom Suozzi's campaign manager abruptly resigned yesterday in yet another sign of trouble for his long-shot bid to defeat Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in the Democratic primary for governor. The...
TALE OF TAPES MAY KO GOTTI
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amProsecutors hope to convict John "Junior" Gotti with his own words - by playing in court prison tapes of the mob scion discussing plans to cop a plea to charges...
'PSYCHO' VS. CYCLO ON L.I.
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amA Long Island woman ordered a bicycling neighbor who said "good morning" to get away from her house - then attacked him with a rake, ran him down with her...
FERRY FIRM HIT IN WAVE $KIM
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amA ferry service must pay $1.2 million to bail itself out of charges that it skimmed cash from emergency grants intended to help commuters in the wake of 9/11, a...
MICKEY'S FINAL CHAPTER - CRIME-WRITING LEGEND SPILLANE DIES
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amMacho mystery writer Mickey Spillane, whose gritty gumshoe, Mike Hammer, was the sexy, violent Cold War icon of the genre - spawning books, movies and a TV series - has...
'STRAIGHT' TALK FROM OPRAH - SHOOTS DOWN RUMORS THAT SHE'S GAY
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amOprah Winfrey has outed herself - as a heterosexual. Winfrey and best pal Gayle King go on the record in the August issue of Winfrey's magazine, O, to deny rumors...
'PUSHER PUMMELED' - LAWYER CLAIMS POLICE BRUTALITY
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amA graphic video released yesterday shows undercover cops in the violent arrest of an alleged Queens drug dealer - wrestling him to the ground and kneeling on his body to...
WOMAN DIES IN L.I. CESSPOOL
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amThe body of a 76-year-old widow was found floating in a 6-foot-deep cesspool that had collapsed in front of her Huntington, L.I., house, police said yesterday. Ruth Congreave apparently stumbled...
GIRL, 11, SHOT DEAD PLAYING IN HYDRANT
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amAn 11-year-old girl splashing in a fire hydrant last night outside her Queens home was fatally shot in the head by a gunman - who suddenly opened fire into a...
MUSIC MAN SAX PERVERT
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amA sicko saxophonist who performed in the Broadway musical "Sweet Charity" and once conducted youth orchestras was convicted of trying to seduce a 13-year-old girl following an FBI sting operation....
THE 5TH ANNUAL LIBERTY MEDAL AWARDS - GIVE THEM A BIG HAND
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amSomeone, somewhere is right now making a difference in a New Yorker's life and we want to know who it is so we can say thanks. We are seeking candidates...
EXIT STAGE RIGHT - B'WAY SEX SUIT AXED
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amTony Award-winning producer Dede Harris "couldn't be more thrilled" that a judge has brought the curtain down on a scandalous $5 million lawsuit that accused her of constantly hitting on...
BLAZING B'KLYN HEAT - DOZENS OF BRAVEST STRICKEN
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amAlmost three dozen firefighters succumbed to searing heat and humidity yesterday battling a three-alarm blaze that gutted sections of a Brooklyn building and left some 100 people temporarily homeless. Thirty...
PSYCHO VERSUS CYCLO - BIKE RIDER ATTACKED
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amA Long Island woman ordered a bicycle-riding neighbor who said "good morning" to get away from her house - then attacked him with a rake, ran him down with her...
OPRAH GIVES IT TO YOU STRAIGHT - DENIES RUMORS SHE'S GAY
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amOprah Winfrey has outed herself - as a heterosexual. Winfrey and best pal Gayle King go on the record in the August issue of Winfrey's magazine, O, to deny rumors...
CHIEF QUITS SINKING SUOZZI SHIP
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amTom Suozzi's campaign manager abruptly resigned yesterday in yet another sign of trouble for his long-shot bid to defeat Eliot Spitzer in the Democratic primary for governor. The resignation of...
A-ROD SIZZLES - HOT YANK'S A HIT IN CENTRAL PARK
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amAlex Rodriguez has been sizzling at the plate - and he's pretty hot away from the ballpark, as well. The Yankee All-Star turned heads yesterday as he stripped off his...
CHRISTIE CAD'S TEENAGE LOVER FUMES AT HIS 'LITTLE GAMES' OF SEDUCTION
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amThe beautiful teen lover of Christie Brinkley's hubby yesterday revealed in sensational detail how the seamy spouse secretly seduced her by first playfully brushing up against her at work -...
HOT CAIRO A BIG HIT SUBBING FOR CANO
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amRobinson Cano's left hamstring isn't healing as quickly as hoped. The Yankees miss the All-Star, but they're winning without him - in part because Miguel Cairo has found his stroke....
RIGHT GUYS - YANKEES ARE TARGETING ABREU AND SANDERS TO FILL SHEFF VOID
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amTHE YANKEES have focused their pursuit of a right fielder on Philadelphia's Bobby Abreu and Kansas City's Reggie Sanders, not just because of their needs for this year, but because...
KNICKS' BUTLER DEADLINE EXTENDED
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amThe Knicks have been granted an extra day to decide whether to match third-string center Jackie Butler's three-year, $7 million offer sheet from the Spurs, but indications are stronger than...
KEEP IT HEAL - WRIGHT BACKS OFF 'REVIVAL'
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amMET NOTES CINCINNATI - A television advertisement for the "Salvation Miracles Revival Crusade" in which David Wright is featured has caused the third baseman and the Mets to clarify that...
'06 COULD BE YEAR OF MOUNTAINEERS
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amBIG EAST FOOTBALL NEWPORT, R.I. - While Charlie Weis was deservedly getting credit for converting Notre Dame's offense from a predictable West Coast bore into a balanced, pro-style attack, coaches...
BONDS BREAKDOWN - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE GRAND JURY'S INVESTIGATION
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amThis may be the week Barry Bonds' life changes forever. The Giants slugger is facing a possible indictment on charges of perjury and/or tax evasion. If the indictment comes, it...
COMEBACK SID - DESPERATE YANKS UNVEIL PONSON TONIGHT
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amTim Redding or Aaron Small? Darrell May or Shawn Chacon? By the time his work with the Yankees is done, Sidney Ponson will be firmly placed in one of two...
SCOUT HAS ROYAL FLUSH
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES In a strong indication the Yankees and Royals have something cooking involving K.C. outfielder Reggie Sanders, each team had a scout watching the other last night. Yankees scout...
FIELDING FLUBS EARN NO GLOVE FOR E-ROD
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amAlex Rodriguez had a three-homer game with the Yankees. Now, to go with it, he has a three-error game. Rodriguez saved the day on Sunday with great defense in the...
HEAD CASE ALEX NEEDS TO WORK ON FUNDA-MENTALS
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amJOHNNY Damon broke in at Kansas City, where in the withering Missouri summer, the Royals suffer the agony of defeat and agony of the feet. Trust him, when you play...
HEAD CASE ALEX NEEDS TO WORK ON HIS FUNDA-MENTALS
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amJOHNNY Damon broke in at Kansas City, where in the withering Missouri summer, the Royals suffer the agony of defeat and agony of the feet. They are hot to trot...
THE NEW SID ON THE BLOCK - DESPERATE YANKS UNVEIL PONSON TONIGHT
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amTim Redding or Aaron Small? Darrell May or Shawn Chacon? By the time his work with the Yankees is done, Sidney Ponson will be firmly placed in one of two...
JUMPIN' JOHNNY GIVES YANKEES JOLT THEY NEEDED
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amJOHNNY Damon broke in at Kansas City, where in the withering Missouri summer, the Royals who suffer the agony of defeat and agony of the feet are hot to trot...
WANG VICTORY WAS NOT E-ASY - BOMBERS OVERCOME A-ROD'S TRIFECTA OF ERRORS
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amYankees 4 - Mariners 2 How good are the Yankees going these days? Well enough to win a game last night when they committed four errors - three by Alex...
RAISING PEL - METS' PELFREY PUMPED FOR SECOND START
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amCINCINNATI - The debut came 10 days ago. The encore comes now. Mike Pelfrey has already begun his major league career, and he started it with a victory on July...
BEACH BALL
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amAntoine "Miles High," Millien is a 6-foot-8 combo player from Queens who turned Sunday's Hoops in the Sun AllStar game into his own personal slam dunk contest. Though he only...
MATSUI GETTIN' BACK IN SWING - STILL EYEING AUGUST RETURN
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES Hideki Matsui has been cleared to begin dry swinging a bat with both hands, and has added the exercise to his daily workout even if he is doing...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
July 18, 2006 | 4:00amA prostitute who has been working the streets of a German city for nearly a half-century is being hailed as a local luminary. "Brigitte," a blonde working girl who claims...